Apparatus for raising submerged ships and other bodies.



B. REINIER. APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUBMERGED SHIPS AND OTHER BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED MAILZ'L 1907.

Patented Sept. 21} 1909.

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APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUBMERGED SHIPS AND OTHER BODIES.

APPLICATION mum MAR. 27, 1907.

, 934,838; Patented Sept.21, 1909.

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BENJAMIN REINIER, OF VIDAUBAN, FRANCE.

APPARATUS FOR RAISING SUBMERG-ED SHIPS AND OTHER BODIES.

Application filed March 27, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN REINIER, a citizen of the Republic ofFrance, residing in Vidauban, Var, France, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatus for Raising Submerged Ships and otherBodies, of which the following is a specification.

The invent-ion provides adapted to be submerged and inflated for thepurpose of buoying or lifting sunken ships and various other analogouspurposes, as will be hereinafter described in detail.

The body constituting the invention is preferably in the form of anincompressible caisson of regular cylindrical shape, or it may beslightly enlarged at its middle. This cylinder is provided at its middlepart with a large opening which places it in constant communication withthe water when the cylinder or caisson is immersed in the water.

A tubular water trap, which in this description will be called a siphon,is placed in the caisson and in communication with the said opening; itis not properly speaking a siphon composed of two branches pointingdownward, but it is the apparatus well known by this name in the marineservice and having a tube which, in each watera body, which is tightcompartment of a ship and particularly in torpedo boats, extends fromthe deck to the keel and serves to discharge the water contained in thelatter by means of a system of valve pumps. This siphon caisson, thesiphon of which is single or multiple according to circumstances, willbe fully understood, as well as its use, by the following descriptionwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the caisson with a part broken away to showthe siphon.

Fig. a cross-section of the caisson, drawn to a. larger scale. Fig. 3 isa longitudinal section of an apparatus with double walls, called asubmarine lift, thus forming a caisson. Fig. l is an end view of thesaid caisson. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the said caisson on the lines1, 1 and 2, 2 of Fig. 3. Figs. (3 and 7 are detail views of the siphondrawn to a larger scale.

The apparatus is constructed of a metal cylinder A which, arrangedhorizontally, is provided at its lower middle part with a large openingB for the admission of water. This opening 13 communicates with thesiphon C having a number of bends, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

Serial No. 364,859.

' ends at ain the lower vessel D. This lower vessel D, which projectsbelow the cylinder A, is closed at the bottom by a stop-plate like aman-hole cover; this plate is kept closed during operations and is onlyopened for cleaning purposes and repairs. Into the vessel D extends asecond siphon E which communicates with the force pump by a tube 0 atthe end of which is a cock 6.

At the upper part of the caisson A is a cock (Z which, when required,controls the outlet of the air contained in the caisson, so as to giveplace to the water entering through the opening B. Besides the siphontubes C and E, if the apparatus is to be inclined it is also providedwith two supplementary emptying pipes F for facilitating the dischargeof the water, which can thus pass directly from one of the ends of theapparatus into the vessel D, and thus reach the -1nouth c of thedischarge siphon. At the two ends of the cylinder A are arranged cocks con which can be screwed, when required, the pipe connections Gr servingto place a number of apparatus in communica tion for combined andcollective action. The cylinder or caisson A is also provided at thelower part of one of its ends, with a cock which allows, at thecommencement of the operation, of immersing the apparatus so that thelevel of the water in the interior comes immediately above the waterinlet B. A mooring strap is placed at H.

The caisson apparatus is used in the following manner :-All the cooksbeing closed, the cylinder A, is placed on the water, with the mooringstrap H downvard,that is to say, in the water. The cock (7 is thus atthe top of the apparatus, and the tube 0 of the air pump is screwed onthe cock I) and this cock and the air cock (Z are opened. Thezuaparatus, which was floating, then commences to sink slowly because ofits weigth, and of the admission of water through the opening B. Just asthe cylinder is on the point of disappearing, the cock (Z is closed.\Vhen the cylinder is immersed. the divers commence to connect it to thesunken body. The water is then driven out of the cylinder A by means ofthe air forced in by the pump through the tube 0 and the siphon E. Theinterior of the apparatus being always in communication with thesurrounding water through the hole B of the siphon C, the wall of thecylinder is between two opposite and nearly equal pressures, and it willtherefore not suffer any deformation, however slight may be itsthickness. The upper part of the wall A supports a pressure equivalentto the difference between that of the air inside and the wateroutside,that is to say, to the pressure exerted by a column of water ofthe height of the diameter of the cylinder A. Similarly, owing to thesiphons G ex tending to the opening 13, the water forming an obstructionprevents the exit of the air and consequently the introduction of waterinto the interior of the cylinder when the cock d is closed. If theapparatus should be inclined in one direction or another, any waterwhich might be at one of the ends will pass into the pipes F and intothe vessel D and enter the siphon G through the mouth a and pass outthrough the opening B. In this manner, in whatever position theapparatus may be, directly the cock 7 (Z is closed it cannot fill withwater and sink during the refioating. Under these conditions, when thevolume of air forced into the cylinder is such that the ascending powerof the immersed apparatus is greater than its total weight and that ofthe subof pressures.

merged body, the cylinder and this submerged body will rise to thesurface. The caisson is thus absolutely buoyant in any depth of water,on account of the equilibrium This system of water trap, or so-calledsiphon, can be put to many different uses some of which are hereinafterdescribed as examples. This refloating apparatus is illustrated in Figs.3 to 7, for example, as having a receptacle forming part thereof,capable of receiving a load of articles to be salved; the lift is of theform of a flat boat, such as a cargo boat. the con tour of the bottom ofwhich is rounded and not sharp or angular.

The part of the lift which constitutes the refloating body consists of akind of caisson the inner wall I of which is a water-tight partitioncurving to a point of junction at the bottom with the outside wall J,and

closed at top and bottom by parallel walls. Thus arranged the refloatingbody will have in the middle of the boat a free space accessible throughany suitable openings or hatches (not shown) and in which will bearranged the chamber K the side walls of which are formed of a partitionI. The lift is provided with two independent so-called compensationchambers L. These two chambers are really refloating caissons withsiphons and the shape of which is suitable with pipes 4 coming from arefloating to the bow and stern of the boat. At the upper part of theapparatus are the air cocks 2 and the air pipes 3 adapted for connectionpump located on the surface of the water, and which pipes 8 extend tothe lower part of the compensation chambers L. At the lower part of thechambers L and of the boat respectively are arranged siphons with outeropenings which insure constant communication between the interior of thechambers L and of the boat respectively with the exterior. The workingof this submarine siphon lift is identical with that previouslyexplained in submersion and refloating; when once the apparatus issubmerged, the divers can load the articles to be salved in the chamberK and then proceed with the refloating. If during the operation the liftshould by tilting either forward or backward, tend to overbalance, theequilibrium can be restored by emptying one or other of the compensatingchambers L. WVhen the lift comes to the surface of the waterit caneither be towed, or be self propelled by a motor M which can be placedin the chamber K or in a metal case N closed practically airtight by a.removable cover a to protect it from the water. This casing N must bestrong enough to support the greatest pressures that it will meet within the water, for

it must not have an opening anywhere (ex cept when the cover a isremoved) in order that the equilibrium of the pressures may be insured.This casing is, however, provided at the top with a large opening 0which can be closed when required by an air-tight cover. It will be seenthat such lift is essentially similar to the siphon caisson hereinbeforedescribed, both in construction and manner of operation.

What I claim is 1. A body adapted to be submerged and rendered buoyantby inflation, having in its interior a tube bent to form a water trap,said trap having a free opening from the inside to the outside of thecaisson, so that the interior shall always be in communication with thewater in which the body is submerged.

2. A caisson for refloating sunken ships and similar purposes having inits interior a tube bent to form a water trap, said trap having a freeopening from the insideto the outside of the caisson, so that theinterior shall always be in communication with the water in which thecaisson is submerged, said caisson being submersible and incompressiblein all positions which it may occupy upon'the water or under the waterat any depth.

A caisson for refloating sunken ships and similar purposes having a tubebent to form a water trapand having a free opening from the inside tothe outside,.said' caisson having also an interior chamber D, a siphon Eextending into the same and having a valved tube 0 for connecting itwith an air force-pump, said caisson having also a cock d for regulatingthe discharge of air when water enters through said trap. I

4. A caisson for refioating sunken ships or similar purposes tube bentto form awater trap and having a tree opening from the inside to theoutside, said caisson having also a chamber D in which the inner end ofthe trap lies, and discharge tubes F leading from the ends of the easinginto the chamber D for feeding the discharge trap.

5. A caisson for refioating sunken ships and similar purposes having adouble wall forming a hollow jacket which can be filled with water forsubmerging the caisson, and into which air may be forced for raising it,the center having a removable cover and being available for carryinggoods.

having in its interior a l 6. A caisson for refioating sunken ships andsimilar purposes having a double wall vforming a hollow jacket which canbe filled with water for submerging the caisson and into which air maybe forced for raising it, said jacket having independent chamberswhereby the equilibrium of the caisson may be restored in case it shouldtilt.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 1% day of March1907, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BENJAMIN REINIER.

Vitnesses ALEXIS GARARD, AN'romo'r'ro PARTMELTO.

